MMC Magazine

The global aerospace industry is an ever more important sector for manufacturing and is dominated by the USA and Europe. At the very cutting edge of this industry sector is the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing, a cluster of world class centres for research into advanced manufacturing technologies used in the aerospace industry. For this first issue of the Mitsubishi Materials in-house magazine, our editorial team visited the AMRC to understand how the relationship between Mitsubishi Materials and the AMRC benefits the aerospace sector.

The AMRC in Rotherham near Sheffield, UK, was initially founded in 2001 as a collaboration between the University of Sheffield and Boeing with support from Yorkshire Forward and the European Regional Development Fund. The AMRC cluster has specialist expertise in machining, casting, welding, additive manufacturing, composites and training. It now has over 80 industrial partners that include Boeing, Rolls Royce, BAE Systems, Airbus and of course Mitsubishi Materials. The centre acts as a support mechanism for the aerospace industry, driving technology brands such as Mitsubishi, DMG Mori, Nikken, NCMT, Renishaw, Starrag and many others to develop innovations that enable the aerospace OEMs to hit their targets. Targets that will primarily be to manufacture components and assemblies faster and more efficiently without increasing the shop floor plant list.
To put this philosophy into perspective, by 2032 it is estimated the global industry will demand 29,000 new large civil airliners, 24,000 business jets and 5,800 regional aircraft valued at over US$5 trillion. As a result innovation centres such as the AMRC is driving innovation together with industry to ensure the global airline industry is able to meet these demands. During our visit to the AMRC, we spoke with AMRC Commercial Director and Co-Founder, Mr Adrian Allen OBE who highlighted the initial ambition behind founding the technology centre over ten years ago. As Mr Allen told us: “When Professor Keith Ridgway CBE and I founded the AMRC, one of our key ambitions was to create sustainable wealth for everybody involved. We didn't define wealth purely in monetary terms but in terms of creating highly skilled jobs, value and profit for our partners.
"In the early days we set tangible targets against a timeline, but, after we built our first centre in 2004, we rapidly exceeded our targets and doubled in size within four years. In 2014 we opened our training centre and that has rapidly grown from a first intake of 160 apprentices to the current level of more than 400. One of our initial aims was to generate highly skilled engineering jobs and with this centre, we are realising our ambitions and creating the next generation of UK engineers."
The AMRC now has seven buildings with the latest expansion being the ‚Factory 2050'project. Earmarked to be opened later in 2015, it will be the first fully reconfigurable digital factory in the UK and will take the overall floor area of the AMRC to 38925sq/m.

The shop floor at the AMRC is regarded as the industry test bed for the next generation of production technology. The machine tools at the AMRC are provided by either the machine tool manufacturers or the aerospace OEMs. New technological developments for cutting fluids, cutting tools, workholding and toolholding, CAM software and machining strategies as well as new material compositions are all tested to the limit on the machines.
To ensure smooth up-scaling from research to full production, the AMRC uses industry standard machine platforms.
The benefit for the aircraft OEMs is that existing machine tools are optimised by introducing new techniques and strategies without disrupting existing production. For the equipment suppliers, their technology is rigorously tested under conditions that are dictated by the leading names in the aerospace industry. The comprehensive testing of the Mitsubishi Coolstar end mill range is one example.
In 2013 Mitsubishi Materials approached the AMRC regarding membership and shortly after a Tier 2 membership was agreed. Mitsubishi Materials supplies its latest cutting tool innovations and provides technical support to the AMRC engineers. In turn, Mitsubishi is given full results and feedback from the cutting tool trials. Recommendations based on the trials at the AMRC are also part of the process.

With the AMRC providing a unique platform for trialling the latest developments under industry test conditions that are dictated by global aerospace OEMs, the lead engineers at the AMRC deliver results that encompass the complete OEM configuration. These unique test conditions factor in the machine tool, material type and tool path strategies that are often beyond the realms of cutting tool manufacturers'inhouse testing facilities.

For example, the 5-axis Starrag STC1250 at the AMRC is the industry standard for this type of machining and has dynamic capabilities for testing the Coolstar end mill to its maximum.

The AMRC has a number of internal research divisions that include the Process Technology Group - covering Structures and Landing Gear, Casings, Shafts and Disks and Blades – and a Composites Centre. At the time of joining the AMRC, Mitsubishi began working with the Structures group on a titanium pocketing project. As the lead engineer involved with the AMRC, Mitsubishi UK‘s Advanced Materials Application Manager, Mr Adrian Barnacle, says: "The AMRC tends to focus upon projects that OEM partners have planned for the future. With aero structural titanium parts, OEMs and the industry in general has focused upon using heavy duty ripper cutters at full machining depth and width parameters with slow feed rates. However, MMC has identified that by machining with smaller cuts at significantly higher speeds/ feeds; in combination with new tool path strategies, cycle times and costs can be significantly reduced. In essence, Mitsubishi Materials is changing this industry perception."

Mr Daniel Smith, the AMRC lead engineer on the project stated in his report: "The 25mm development tool has a proven ability to run at elevated surface speeds with little effect on tool life when radial engagement and other temperature generation factors are controlled. Furthermore, speeds of up to 130m/min have been successfully trialled for roughing at ae = 10% of the tool diameter whilst finishing speeds of 160m/min yield an excellent surface finish and could potentially be increased to further reduce cycle times."

Mitsubishi believe the impact this machining strategy and the Coolstar range could have on titanium pocketing applications is considerable.

Adrian Barnacle states: "For pocket machining the Mitsubishi Coolstar is considerably outperforming other tools when using these machining parameters."

AMRC’s Structures Group Technical Lead Mr Adam Brown said: "The support that Mitsubishi has given the AMRC in the short time they have been partners has been extremely useful in terms of tooling development focusing on the needs of the industries we support. We particularly appreciated the engagement with Mitsubishi R&D in producing custom and development tools for testing. In all cases this has led to extremely successful outcomes for both research and application projects."

Adrian Barnacle added: "The aerospace industry has predominantly been the benchmark for heavy machining of difficult materials, however customers now want to reduce on-machine times and stock removal by obtaining components and structures as close to the near net shape as possible. With this mindset, the light and fast machining strategy for the Coolstar is already putting us at the forefront of the industry."